Marilyn Monroe is considered one of the most iconic actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age of cinema. Monroe, born Norma Jeane Mortenson, was born in 1926 in Los Angeles, California and had a troubled childhood before she became a model and then broke into acting. In 1953, Monroe was skyrocketed into fame when she starred in two well-received films, Gentleman Prefer Blondes, and Niagra. Monroe is often remembered for her breathy rendition of Happy Birthday Mr. President, or her untimely and controversial death, but she is also regarded as an icon for her roles in early Hollywood cinema.
Although looking at these films through a 21st-century lens can be problematic, they are historically well regarded for being part of an important era and beginning the illustrious career of Marilyn Monroe.
River Of No Return (1954) - 6.6
In 1954, the action-adventure film River of No Return was released starring Robert Mitchem, Marilyn Monroe, and Rory Calhoun. Monroe stars as a saloon girl named Kay who is married, somewhat brusquely to a gambling man named Harry Weston played by Rory Calhoun.
The two enlists the help of a farmer named Matt Calder (played by Robert Mitchem) who is living with his young son and was recently released from jail. When Weston abandons his wife with Calder, the three set out on a harrowing adventure down the River of No return.
How To Marry A Millionaire (1953) - 6.9
How to Marry a Millionaire is a 1953 comedy about three women and their quest to find rich husbands. The movie was marketed as a battle between the sexes, with the women digging for gold and pulling out all the stops to entrap a worthy mate. It stars Marilyn Monroe as Pola Debevoise alongside Betty Grable as Loco Dempsey and Lauren Bacall as Schatze Page.
The three women play models who are sharing an apartment in New York City, and fed up with broke men and not having enough of their own money, they hatch a plan. To team up and ensnare three millionaire husbands.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) - 7.2
Gentleman Prefer Blondes is a screwball comedy from 1953 that helped skyrocket Monroe into the international symbol that she is today. She stars as Lorelei Lee alongside Jane Russell as Dorothy Shaw. The two captivating women are lounge singers from a small town who ended up on a transatlantic cruise and are up for hijinks as they too, look for eligible men.
This movie has one of the most iconic songs that Monroe sang, the upbeat tune "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend."
The Misfits (1961) - 7.3
The Misfits is a romantic drama about the old west, an aging cowboy, a widower, and a divorcé. It was released in 1961 and shows the rocky development of a relationship between an older Clark Gable and a recently divorced woman in her 30s, played by Marilyn Monroe. The two bond over fixing up a friend's house together (played by Clift Montgomery) who also becomes romantically interested in Monroe.
Monroe and the cowboy hit it off early on as friends, but their relationship comes to a head many times, the least of which is a plan to capture wild horses and sell them to a slaughterhouse.
Bus Stop (1956) - 6.5
Bus Stop is a 1956 romantic comedy in which Monroe reprises her role as a showgirl, who is a bit lost. Chérie is working as a singer in a cafe in Phoenix and meets a cowboy from an isolated Montana farm, who is inexperienced in relationships, played by Don Murray.
Beauregard, the cowboy, develops intense feelings for Monroe and is determined to do whatever it takes to make Chérie, the cafe singer, his wife once he has won a rodeo in Phoenix, Arizona, including kidnapping.
Niagra (1953) - 7
Niagra is a film-noir thriller about a husband and wife and their descent into a twisted tale of domestic violence, deadly plots, and revenge. Monroe plays Rose Loomis the wife of George Loomis, who is a jealous man, but she is by no means "captive" to him and their relationship.
Their marriage is witnessed by the newlywed couple, Polly and Ray Cutler. After they mistakenly see a passionate kiss between Rose and a mysterious beau, and the action begins.
Monkey Business (1952) - 7
Monkey Business is a screwball comedy from 1952 which is starstudded with such talent as Ginger Rogers, Cary Grant, and Marilyn Monroe. When an absent-minded scientist, Dr. Barnaby Fulton's chimpanzee mixes together a fountain of youth concoction behind the scientist's back and dumps it into the water cooler, comedy ensues.
Dr. Fulton is quickly catapulted back into his college years, and his wife soon follows by regressing somewhere far back in her childhood. Monroe plays his young secretary who is thrilled at the chance to spend time with a much more lively, and entertaining Dr. Fulton.
The Seven Year Itch (1955) - 7.1
The Seven Year Itch is a comedy from 1955 that takes place primarily in the mind of an older married man, played by Tom Ewell, who is reading a book of the same name that his company is about to publish about how married men frequently cheat on their partners after seven years of marriage.
When he sends his wife and son away to escape the heat of a Manhattan summer, he begins to indulge in the fantasy of being unfaithful with a young blonde model who moved in upstairs, played by Marilyn Monroe, and only referred to as "The Girl."
The Asphalt Jungle (1950) - 7.9
The Asphalt Jungle is a 1950's film-noir crime drama that uncovers an elaborate jewel heist. When career criminal Doc Erwin Riedenschneider is released from prison, he immediately begins plotting his next big operation involving a handpicked team of criminals.
The plot, while familiar, was quite ahead of its time. Monroe has a breakthrough role as a young blonde neighbor with an easy life.
Some Like It Hot (1959) - 8.2
Some Like It Hot is a comedy from 1959 in which two working-class musicians witness a murder by a proficient mob, and fearing for their lives and out of a job they disguise themselves as women to play in an all-female traveling band. While in the band, they meet Sugar Kane Kowalcyzk and hijinks ensue.
The men both struggle between their attraction to sugar, their need for safety and all the while pretending to be women.